day 3 of trip, day 1 of blog

my maiden night at the Hotel Stella Etois was a good move- I was so exausted from travel & the location was ideal for a first night in a new country on my own. I shyly wandered the back streets of the till I worked up the courage to make some stops, speak a little french, & buy supplies. I picknicked in my room to the garble of french tv, read a bit abbout my new city, & enjoyed a cheap bottle of wine. I ventured out again around 11. The Arc de Triomph & the Champs Elysee were at the end of my block & much more enjoyable with fewer people & under the cover of night.

My blackberry wasn't working & I managed to get a phone card but hesitated to use the phone because of high rates- internet at the hotel didn't come cheaply either. knowing I would connect with Helen the next day I resigned myself to being incommunicado with my world for a few hours.

The next moring I awoke, took a relaxing, long bubble bath & snacked on last night's leftovers. I was enjoying the best pain aux olive I've ever had, some peppercorn salami, & was about to dig back into my delightfully stinky cheese when I saw: MAGGOTS. ugh. fromage aux worms. my stomach turned, I broke open the cheese & a whole wiggly mess of the fuckers reared their heads. I didn't allow myself think about the possibility that I'd gotten some unexpected protein the night before, I just tossed the food & checked out to check in with Ms. Gaudette.

I had no problem finding the place although actually getting face-to-face with Helen took some effort. I'd written down the wrong address and her phone was going straight to voicemail. After a half hour (that seemed to span a year's time) wandering the street, ringing the wrong bell, and visiting a couple phone booths we made contact & she welcomed me to our grubby new digs.

so, Paris got off to a rough start but things have fallen into place and the apartment is becoming home. It's funky but we put some elbow work into it & now it's almost charming. our location is prime, half a block from the Raspail train stop & near everything. we also have a lovely courtyard to look out into & the place has a tiny lift (3 peeps max). the blackberry is up & running and for now, internet is free.

we tried to go to the catacombs today (which is just down the street) but it's closed Monday so we ventured over to Napolean's tomb instead. Yesterday we walked up through the Luxembourge Palace Gardens, stopped briefly to admire Notre Dame, then ambled along the Seine to the Louvre where we wandered the gardens & stopped for late lunch. We were too tired & it was so late that we didn't go in. we plan to get an early start one of these mornings & check it out. dinner was grautin (onion soup) and salad nicoise at a brasserie up the street from our place.

Helen is a great travel partner, she's quick with the map & her knowledge of history is really wonderful- like having my own ultra tour guide. my contribution is listening & a knack for navigating the trains. we're both on a budget & fortunately have similar taste in food so we've made a couple stops at the grocer & share when we're out. we make a pretty good pair.

tonight Helen is at a work function & I'm enjoying some down-time while planning the next segments of my journey. Brussels is next, followed by Madrid, looks like Pamplona might be out but Venice is in & as is a day stop at a beach town to break up the travel. Milan is a maybe, waiting to hear from a friend of a freind.

that's it so far. in regard to Paris all I can say is: WOW. I see how people can't help falling in love when they come here. I swear, after a full day of gorgeous buildings, history, statues of god-like nakedness, and a drink in the romantic Louvre gardens I was about ready to chase Helen through the foilage maze & plant one on her.

that's it for now. pictures soon.